Buffalo council questions capital budget process after auditors flag unpaid bond-funded projects

Council members on the Buffalo City Council Committee on Finance pressed the Citizens Planning Council, the Office of Strategic Planning and the comptroller's office on Thursday about why so many capital projects remain uncompleted and why councilmatic requests do not always appear in the capital budget.

The comptroller's office told the committee the city had nearly $275,000,000 in projects not completed as of June 30, 2025, and that a portion of those costs is financed with bonds that the city continues to pay. "As of 06/30/2025, the city had almost ... $275,000,000 in projects that have not been completed," said Duane O'Dowd, deputy controller. He said the outstanding bond-related costs include interest and principal but did not present a single reconciled line item in the meeting record.

The accounting and process question landed at the center of a lengthy exchange about the Citizens Planning Council's (CPC) role. "We sit down probably for 6 meetings, listening to every request that's made by department for their needs and wants," Skyler Banks, chair of the Citizens Planning Council, told the committee. Banks said CPC members review departmental requests, ask follow-up questions and submit recommendations to the…